Men’s golf
No. 4 ASU men’s golf participated in the Thunderbird Collegiate from April 15-16, ASU’s only hosted tournament of the season.
ASU hosted some of the best teams in the NCAA, with four top-5 and five top-10 teams coming to compete at Papago.
The Sun Devils fell just short of earning the team victory, finishing with a total score of 26-under, five more strokes than the winning team Oklahoma.
Senior James Leow competed as an individual and went on to win the individual trophy with a 14-under performance. Leow’s 14-under finish is the fifth-lowest in the near half-century history at the Thunderbird course.
Freshman Josele Ballester continued his excellent form, finishing at 11-under and tying for fourth place.
Graduate student Mason Andersen earned himself a tie for seventh place, going nine under par for his final regular season home tournament as a Sun Devil. Andersen will finish his career at ASU with the third-most par or better rounds played by a Sun Devil ever, only behind Jon Rahm and Kevin Yu.
The men’s golf team will be closing out its 2021-22 season with the Pac-12 Championships taking place from April 25-27 in Seattle, Washington, then the NCAA Regionals will begin on May 16. Finally, the NCAA Championships will take place here in Scottsdale at the Grayhawk Golf Club from May 27 to June 1.
Women’s golf
No. 7 Sun Devil women’s golf finished in seventh at the 2022 Pac-12 Championship this past week at Eugene Country Club.
Sitting atop the leaderboard going into day three, the Sun Devils struggled through treacherous weather conditions to drop six spots in one of the toughest fields of any women's college golf tournament.
"Today was a disappointing finish for us at the conference championship,” coach Missy Farr-Kaye said. “We just struggled with the difficult conditions with every player. It's time for us to regroup and start prepping for the NCAA Regionals.”
No. 2 Oregon won the tournament in their home tournament, Hsin-Yu Lu made it a Ducks’ sweep by winning the individual title with a score of -6.
Senior Alessandra Fanali finished in a tie for ninth with +4, making it at least 18 consecutive years where a Sun Devil finished in the Top-10.
Senior Alexandra Forsterling, recently named Pac-12 Scholar Athlete of the Year, ended the tournament with a score of +7, and freshman Grace Summerhays finished right behind Forsterling with a +8. Sophomore Ashley Menne finished with a +10, while freshman Calynne Rosholt finished with a +17.
The Sun Devils await their NCAA regional fate when it’s determined which of the six sites they’re sent to. Regionals will take place from May 9-11, as the NCAA Regional will consist of six sites instead of four for the first time. The women’s championship will be held from May 20-25.
Lacrosse
ASU women’s lacrosse continued its win streak in the Pac-12 conference with an 18-10 win over Cal and an 11-10 overtime win at Oregon. The team finished its final road trip of the season with a 16-8 win at Colorado on Sunday.
Graduate attacker Carley Adams led the Sun Devils with five goals against the Buffaloes. Senior attacker Katie Brodsky followed close behind with four goals. Graduate attacker Emily Glagolev, midfielders Taylor Pinzone and Maria Villanti added two apiece and graduate attacker Emily Munro rounded out the score sheet with a goal of her own.
Freshman goalkeeper Katie Vahle started her 15th game for the Sun Devils, making 11 saves and allowing six goals. Sophomore goalkeeper Flynn Murphy subbed in with under two minutes left and allowed two goals.
The Sun Devils returned to Tempe for the final regular season game against the USC Trojans and lost 15-13.
Adams once again led the Sun Devils in goals with four. Brodsky, Glagolev and Pinzone each added two. Munro, senior midfielder Kaylon Buckner and sophomore attacker Mina Scott each added one but it was not enough to put the Sun Devils ahead of the Trojans.
Vahle started her 16th game, making 14 saves and allowing 15 goals to close out an impressive regular season for the freshman.
The Sun Devils will remain in Tempe for the Pac-12 championship tournament starting on May 4 at 4:30 p.m. MST.
Beach volleyball
On April 15, the Sand Devils hosted their final home match of the season against Park University and Ottawa University. ASU won both, sweeping Ottawa 5-0 and beating Park 4-1.
It was senior night for the Sun Devils where the team honored three girls: seniors Lauren Weinetraub and Maddy Salazar and graduate student Cierra Flood. All three won both of their matches this weekend.
Next up for ASU, is the Pac-12 championships in Tucson. This will be the final tournament of the season for ASU, unless the team qualifies for the NCAA tournament.
Track and field
Sun Devils track and field hosted their final home meet of the 2022 season, the ASU Twilight Invitational, from April 22-23. Many athletes fought for spots in the NCAA West Prelims, while some of those who have already qualified were rested.
ASU earned 14 total victories throughout the weekend.
The track and field squads are continuing to have impressive seasons as prior to the Twilight meet, both the women’s and men’s teams were ranked in the top-20 USTFCCCA rankings. At No. 13, the women have earned their highest ranking since 2018. The men landed at No. 18 to give them their fourth-consecutive week in the top-20.
On Friday night, all 20 of the seniors on the team had their careers at ASU honored and celebrated by all in attendance. Each of the recognized athletes received a framed jersey signed by teammates that also includes photos and stats of each recipient.
In the men’s 800-meter race, all three Sun Devils running landed on the podium. Freshman Dayton Carlson won with a time of 1:48.92, while junior Vincent Mauri and graduate student Adam Meyer both finished within one second of Carlson.
The throwers yet again dominated their respective events, with graduate student hammer thrower Beatrice Llano, freshman Ralford Mullings (discus) and graduate student Jorinde Van Klinken (discus) all taking home first-place finishes. Van Klinken’s throw of 63.72-meters increased her collegiate lead but also qualified her for the World Championships.
Senior javelin thrower Connery McLaughlin had not competed in over three years, yet he was able to throw for 67.31-meters, good for not only a personal best but also for ninth all-time in ASU history.
There is only one meet left before the T&F postseason kicks off in Eugene, Oregon for the Pac-12’s beginning on May 13. The Desert Heat Classic hosted by UA will take place on April 30 and will feature a select few Sun Devils, as most of the squad will be preparing for the Pac-12 Championships.
Reach the reporters at, jspange1@asu.edu, ahoppes1@asu.edu, atschmi2@asu.edu and kfield4@asu.edu and follow @jspangenthal94, @aviannahoppes, @schmitty9999 and @Kathrynfield_ on Twitter.
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Justin Spangenthal is a reporter for The State Press, currently covering Men's Golf and Track and Field. Justin transferred to ASU last January and is planning to graduate Fall '23. He is passionate about journalism and hopes to one day launch his own media outlet.
Kathryn Field is a sports editor at The State Press. Kathryn has previously worked as a full time reporter at The State Press, covering women’s basketball and lacrosse.
Aaron Schmidt is a sports reporter who covers ASU Baseball and ASU Women’s Golf for The State Press. He previously covered Higley High School football for AZPreps365.
